Life with the Robins and Beyond: The Geoff Merrick Story

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We did get some money but it wasn’t a huge amount of money. They also gave us some of the gate receipts for testimonial matches against Southampton and Ipswich. I went to Lincoln after just to keep some money coming in. Do you remember those sessions [for Magical Mystery Tour]? ) “All I recall is that I didn’t think it was a good idea.” For anyone who still hasn’t seen it, here are parts of an interview with Geoff from 1979 – that’s only 12 years after recording Pepper, and he doesn’t even know who’s playing the piano on ADITL! They were heroes and they haven't been treated like heroes. In many cases they've almost been treated like villains, and it's shameful.

Previously, players were bound to clubs even after their contracts expired. But new legislation stipulated that players could now leave once their contracts had expired. The selling club would still get a fee, but the ruling changed the footballing landscape.They could see that if we didn't do what was suggested that a lot of other people would suffer as well." 'It pushed me into bankruptcy' Trevor Tainton made almost 500 appearances as a midfielder for Bristol City I was in for a big disappointment. I was one of the people interviewed for Geoff’s book, as were many other former Abbey Road employees. We all came to understand that these interviews were arranged because he had very little recall of those days, and his co-author would use our memories to buttress Geoff’s own meager memories.

I’d lived literally 10 minutes walk away from Ashton Gate and it was my pride and joy. When we didn’t have the money, we couldn’t afford to get into the stadium. We used to climb the walls, all kids did.

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The 'Ashton Gate Eight' would have received more money if the PFA had not been so successful in fixing them up with other clubs."